2416 BC
. Next map: '''2412 BC (Maps Index)]] 2416 BC - THE DISPERSION BEGINS MAIN EVENTS 2424 BC - Collapse of Abzu; settlement of Sweden Before the Great Deluge of 2755 BC, the major languages had been Proto-Ge'ez (Proto-Semitic) spoken by Sethites, and Ancient Egyptian spoken by Cainites. The family of Noah, being Sethite, used mostly Proto-Ge'ez, but the wives of his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, knew Ancient Egyptian as their first language. There was no standard vocabulary, and as families and tribes of Semites, Hamites and Japhethites multiplied, so did their dialects, with only few preserving knowledge of correct grammar for any language. Since the Abzu of Eridu had been begun after 2467 BC, this lack of any standard and resultant linguistic diversity had grown so acute that Semite, Hamite and Japethite tribes were having increasing difficulty communicating. Meaning to remedy this, Enmerkar had a new artificial language constructed as a standard vocabulary for the builders in Senar - Sumerian. However, this mostly failed to reduce the confusion arising from the multiplicity of languages, and hopes of reestablishing linguistic unity had become a lost cause by the time the Abzu collapsed in 2424 BC. Also in 2424 BC, Sueno and Gethar, sons of Magog, settled with their respective families or tribes across the Baltic in what is now Sweden. (Jubilees, Enmerkar & The Lord of Aratta, Magnus) 2421 BC - Founding of Susa In the aftermath of the Abzu collapse, the site of Eridu was largely abandoned and Enmerkar's practical authority only extended over Uruk and Akkad, with Haran also subject to him. Kish began to assert itself as the successor to Eridu under its ruler Etana. Southwest of the Euphrates had been bequeathed to Arphaxad in 2494 BC, and Semitic tribes of Arphaxad began spreading to the south, with the tribe of Kasdim along the south bank accepting Enmerkar's overlordship. East of Senar beyond the Tigris was the region bequeathed to Elam, and by 2421 BC, after three years, a city had been founded nearby in the name of Elam's son, Susa. Asserting their independence, they also standardized their own speech and glyphs, in distinction to that promoted by Enmerkar. Barwain, Noah's fourth son, also moved to Elam and assisted them. (Jubilees, Sumerian Kinglist; cf. Ps-Methodius) 2417 BC - Hamites depart for Africa; Wall of Enmerkar In 2494 BC, Ham and his four sons had been bequeathed land west of the Nile, including most of Africa. Along with other nations, they set out from their settlements in Mesopotamia for their inheritance following the collapse of the Abzu. However, after the Hamite peoples had crossed the Euphrates and arrived in Lebanon, the tribes of Canaan refused to continue and began to occupy the land, part of Arphaxad's allotment, in violation of the agreed partitions, while the other Hamites continued toward the Nile. By the 50th year since Enmerkar had claimed kingship and begun the Abzu, 2417 BC, he found it necessary to construct a wall intended to keep the Amorite or Martu tribe of Canaan out of his realm in Mesopotamia. (Jubilees; Lugalbanda and the Anzu Bird)